September 29, 2008

... As described by Air America Radio and MSNBC propagandist Rachel Maddow on her radio show this past Friday --

"I've always felt like the way you talk about the war in Iraq is to take the biggest possible perspective on it, which is, the analogy for me is that we had some sort of horrible illness as a country, which was evident in our vulnerability to global terrorism (emphasis added) and we went into the hospital for that illness and what we were given was a medicine to which we were allergic and we had a horrible, awful, very threatening allergic reaction to it. And now, after five and a half years (laughs) in Iraq, we've conquered the allergic reaction and we have sort of gotten rid of the negative, some of the negative effects of the wrong medicine that we took. But we still have this horrible illness."

September 24, 2008

"Are journalists playing favorites with some of the key political figures involved with regulatory oversight of U.S. financial markets?

"MSNBC's Chris Matthews launched several vitriolic attacks on the Republican Party on his Sept. 17, 2008, show, suggesting blame for Wall Street problems should be focused in a partisan way. However, he and other media have failed to thoroughly examine the Democratic side of the blame game.

"Prominent Democrats ran Fannie Mae, the same government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) that donated campaign cash to top Democrats. And one of Fannie Mae's main defenders in the House - Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a recipient of more than $40,000 in campaign donations from Fannie since 1989 - was once romantically involved with a Fannie Mae executive.

"The media coverage of Frank's coziness with Fannie Mae and his pro-Fannie Mae stances has been lacking. Of the eight appearances Frank made on the three broadcasts networks between Jan. 1, 2008, and Sept. 21, 2008, none of his comments dealt with the potential conflicts of interest. Only six of the appearances dealt with the economy in general and two of those appearances, including an April 6, 2008 appearance on CBS's "60 Minutes" were about his opposition to a manned mission to Mars.

"Frank has argued that family life "should be fair game for campaign discussion," wrote the Associated Press on Sept. 2. The comment was in reference to GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her pregnant daughter. "They're the ones that made an issue of her family," the Massachusetts Democrat said to the AP.

"The news media have covered the relationship in the past, but there have been no mentions since 2005, according to Nexis and despite the collapse of Fannie Mae. The July 3, 1998, Reliable Source column in The Washington Post reported Frank, who is openly gay, had a relationship with Herb Moses, an executive for the now-government controlled Fannie Mae. The column revealed the two had split up at the time but also said Frank was referring to Moses as his "spouse." Another Washington Post report said Frank called Moses his "lover" and that the two were "still friends" after the breakup ..."

"McCain picked Palin for a number of reasons--youth, pizzazz, energy, appeal to the base and to middle-class women, to the West and to blue-collar voters--but it may turn out that the main contribution she makes to his effort is in goading the Democrats into spasms of self-defeating and entirely lunatic rage. Somehow, every element of her life--the dual offense of being a beauty-queen and hunter; the Down syndrome baby who wasn't aborted; the teenage daughter about to get married, whose baby also wasn't aborted; the non-metrosexual husband working the nightshift; the very fact of five children--touched a nerve on the liberal template, and sent the whole beast into convulsions, opening an intriguing and somewhat frightening window onto the turbulent id of the left."

"North to Alaska: It turns out that well before he was jettisoned for what he says was his refusal to fire trooper Wooten at the behest of Sarah Palin, Monegan had his own share of domestic troubles - some of them spilling all the way down to the Bay Area.

"In October 1994, Monegan's estranged wife, who had moved from Alaska to the Peninsula with the couple's two daughters after more than 10 years of marriage, sought a temporary restraining order against him -- accusing Monegan of threatening to kill her, waving a gun at her and dislocating her shoulder, (emphasis added) according to her declaration on file in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

"In an interview last week, Georgene Moldovan said Monegan had threatened several times to throw her body in an Alaska river.

"Monegan, 57, who has since remarried, vigorously denied Moldovan's allegations, both in court papers filed at the time and in an interview with us last week. "I'm not a door slammer - I don't punch walls," he said.

"Monegan admitted to dislocating Moldovan's shoulder, but said it was an accident that had happened before they were married, while they "were wrestling and tickling."

September 20, 2008

This was the eyebrow-raising revelation by Alaska state senator Bill Wielchowski, appearing Thursday on Ed Schultz's radio show to discuss the so-called Troopergate scandal.

Wielchowski disputed GOP assertions that the current probe has become politicized while he also touted investigator Steve Branchflower's credentials, describing him as a former prosecutor with more than two decades' experience who no longer lives in Alaska. Then came this --

"In fact," Wielchowski said, "he actually wrote a scathing report about Walt Monegan, the commissioner, a few years ago on another issue," (emphasis added) after which Wielchowski laughed.

Upon hearing that, any radio host with an ounce of curiosity -- or interest in the truth -- would have asked the inevitable follow-up question -- gee, what was that all about? Not Schultz -- he moved right to the next subject, and Wielchowski did not elaborate.

Just as curious is the apparent lack of information in the public domain about Branchflower's previous investigation of Monegan, the former Alaska public safety commissioner fired by Palin in July. Quick searches via Google and a glance through the Anchorage Daily News' Troopergate archives turned up nothing, not even in an Aug. 2 story about Branchflower being hired for the investigation. Maybe it's out there, somewhere, and if so I'd love to see it.

September 17, 2008

"WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by inviting Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, aides to the senator said Tuesday.

"Several American Jewish groups plan a major rally outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 to protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Organizers said Tuesday that both Clinton, who nearly won the Democratic nomination for president, and Palin, Republican candidate John McCain's running mate, are expected to attend.

"That would have set up a closely scrutinized and potentially explosive pairing in the midst of a presidential campaign, one in which the New York senator is campaigning for Democratic nominee Barack Obama while Palin actively courts disappointed Clinton supporters.

"Clinton aides were furious. They first learned of the plan to have both Clinton and Palin appear when informed by reporters.

" 'Her attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event,' said Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines. 'Sen. Clinton will therefore not be attending.' "... (emphasis added)

Think about it -- if the Alaskan police internal probe of alleged wrongdoing by state trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's former brother-in-law, had been a complete whitewash, would not the Palins have been justifiably irritated?

After all, the allegations against Wooten were serious enough -- and numerous enough -- to warrant serious scrutiny. Wooten had been accused of threatening to kill Sarah Palin's father, tasering his 10-year-old stepson, illegally killing a female moose and driving beer while driving a cruiser.

Yet just about all we learn from the media coverage, at least that I've seen, is that Wooten was "briefly" suspended after the police investigation.

As a former reporter who's done his share of crime stories, many questions come to mind about that investigation. For example --

Was Wooten questioned in person, over the phone, via e-mail? How long did the interview with him last? Was there more than one? Did Wooten invoke the Fifth Amendment? If so, how many times in response to how many questions?

Did Wooten deny the allegations?

Is it true that Wooten tasered his 10-year-old stepson and, if so, for what reason?

Is Wooten still authorized to use a taser? How about on minors?

Did any of the investigating officers ever serve in the same police barracks as Wooten? Attend the same police academy class? Linked by marriage, church, military unit, civic group, softball team, etc.?

If Wooten was found innocent of threatening to kill Sarah Palin's father, why was he reportedly suspended for several days?

Media reports have also stated that Wooten has been married four times and that all four marriages ended in divorce. If this is true, did any of his wives file for divorce on the basis of cruel and unusual punishment?

Did the investigating officers also look at allegations against Wooten that have not been reported? If so, what were they?

Have any state troopers investigated by Alaska police ever lost their jobs? If so, how many? How does this compare with other states and the nation as a whole?

What percentage of Alaskan state troopers are women? Native American? How many are in positions of authority? Are any involved in state police internal investigations?

These are just the tip of the iceberg of questions that should be asked. And probing questions have this wonderful habit of leading to more of same.

September 16, 2008

Maybe Air America Radio and MSNBC pontificator Rachel Maddow just can't help herself.

Here's what Maddow said on her radio show Monday about Defense Secretary Robert Gates visiting Baghdad and talking about a "shrinking" role for US combat troops in Iraq.

Maddow -- "That, of course, is slightly undercut by the fact that the president gave a speech last week in which he said there aren't any troops leaving Iraq, at least until after he's no longer president any more."

That "of course" is demonstrably untrue, as anyone who saw Bush's speech or read about it is aware. Here is what the president actually said on Sept. 9 about the alleged non-withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, as posted at C-SPAN --

"Today, I am pleased to announce the next step forward in our policy of "return on success." General Petraeus has just completed a review of the situation in Iraq - and he and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have recommended that we move forward with additional force reductions. Over the next several months, we will bring home about 3,400 combat support forces (emphasis added)- including aviation personnel, explosive ordnance teams, combat and construction engineers, military police, and logistical support forces. By November, we will bring home a Marine battalion that is now serving in Anbar province. And in February of 2009, another Army combat brigade will come home. This amounts to about 8,000 additional American troops returning home without replacement. And if the progress in Iraq continues to hold, General Petraeus and our military leaders believe additional reductions will be possible in the first half of 2009."

September 15, 2008

Here's what Rachel Maddow said last week on her MSNBC show about President Bush's announcement of troop withdrawals from Iraq --

"After President Bush announced yesterday that troop levels will stay the same through the end of his presidency and that he proposes that the next president bring home just 8,000 troops next February, which would leave more American forces in Iraq indefinitely then were there before the surge, John McCain didn't go on camera to comment on the subject, opting instead for a short written statement."

"As President Bush announced today that he would draw down the level of troops in Iraq by 8,000 early next year, the presidential candidates and their surrogates — as well as other politicians — began weighing in."

In other words, 8,000 US troops will leave Iraq by February, not in "next February," as Maddow falsely claims, nor did Bush say "troop levels will stay the same through the end of his presidency," as Maddow also pulled out of thin air.

September 11, 2008

"Michael Phelps isn't the only person hoping to make waves on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend. He will be joined by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who'll be jetting in from New Hampshire, PEOPLE has learned, but whose role in the show is like many of the voters he covets: undecided.

"The details of the sketch are still being worked out," an Obama campaign spokesperson tells PEOPLE. ..."

I took it from a chartered flight in July 1993, a bachelor party for my future brother-in-law who's now a brother to me.

We flew due west from Plymouth to the Hudson River on a clear day in summer, then south to Manhattan, not far from the flight path taken by Flight 11, the first of the planes to strike on another crystalline morning eight years later.

Flying over the Hudson River with the New York skyline to our left, I remember thinking how odd it was that we could come so close to the skyscrapers, and that a bomber plane had slammed into the Empire State Building toward the end of World War II. That was my first reaction on Sept. 11, 2001, as I awakened my 2-year-old son and my wife called up to say a plane hit the World Trade Center. Must be another military plane, I thought. Turns out it was.

After passing Lower Manhattan, the skyscrapers looming above us and looking close enough to touch, we circled twice around the Statue of Liberty. I took the photo shown here during one of those circuits. From this perspective, we could see what the doomed souls on Flight 175 later saw in the last seconds of their lives. Minutes earlier, as we flew over the George Washington Bridge and approached Manhattan, we saw what those on Flight 11 last witnessed before barbarians snuffed out their lives.

I keep this photo on the wall of my office, not far from photos of my family and other relatives and cherished friends and wonderful places I've had the good fortune to visit. I keep this photo as a reminder that the more we lull ourselves into complacency about the threat posed by militant Islam, the more likely the wolves will strike again.

As they say in AA, the further you get from your last drink, the closer you are to the next.

September 10, 2008

One devoutly hopes the McCain-Palin campaign harps on this incessantly.

From an op-ed column by US Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., in today's Wall Street Journal --

"... Mrs. Palin also killed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in her own state. Yes, she once supported the project: But after witnessing the problems created by earmarks for her state and for the nation's budget, she did what others like me have done: She changed her position and saved taxpayers millions. Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge.

"When the Senate had its chance to stop the Bridge to Nowhere and transfer the money to Katrina rebuilding, Messrs. Obama and Biden voted for the $223 million earmark, (emphasis added) siding with the old boys' club in the Senate. And to date, they still have not publicly renounced their support for the infamous earmark."

... During the first hour of Friday's Randi Rhodes Show, she had this tosay about McCain's sacrifices during the Vietnam War (clip follows immediatelythereafter):RHODES: Of course he (McCain) became very friendly with theVietnamese. They called him the Prince. He was well treated actually. And he waswell treated because he traded these propaganda interviews for good treatment.So look, it's a horrible story anyway you cut it, anyway you look at it, any wayyou you you deal with it.But, it's not the story Fred Thompson told. Nor is itthe story Rudy Giuliani told. Nor is it the story Sarah Palin told. Nor is itthe story anybody. Cindy McCain knew to limit herself to 'I think what myhusband did in Vietnam was heroic' because she knows the truth too. ...

That Rhodes believes this gibberish is not surprising for another reason. After all, isn't everyone treated well in leftist totalitarian hellholes?

September 8, 2008

"... In fact, one widely circulated, very long list (which appears, among other places, on Librarian.net's comment string and has been disavowed by the website's owner) is obviously false because it includes four books that had not yet hit shelves when Palin became mayor in 1996 (emphasis added) — "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," all by J.K. Rowling. ..."

September 6, 2008

Listeners to "The Ed Schultz Show" must wonder if McCain's selection of Sarah Palin for running mate brought out the inner Neanderthal in Schultz, a top-ranked progressive talker who broadcasts out of Fargo, N.D.

All through his show on Monday, Schultz disparaged Palin as an "empty pantsuit" and "Mary Kay salesman" and went so far as to challenge Palin's fitness as a mother.

"The other issue that's been brought up, her child, recently giving birth to a child, is Down syndrome," Schultz said. "What kind of a family value is it for a mother to run off and run for the vice presidency of the United States in this situation?! I'm just asking."

Later in the show, Schultz pursued the same line of criticism. "How much time is she going to be able to spend with a Down syndrome baby at four months and be vice president of the United States?!" Schultz asked emphatically. "What's the priority here?!

By the last hour of Monday's show, Schultz's female listeners had enough. When a third woman called and accused Schultz of "attacking" Palin, Schultz's volcanic temper erupted.

"I'm not attacking her personally!" Schultz shouted. "Don't tell me that! I am tired of that! I am not attacking anyone personally! She is a right-wing ideologue and she is inexperienced!"

Schultz undoubtedly did little to endear himself with women by also referring that day to Cindy McCain as a "bimbo," a cheap shot he proudly keeps repeating ever since as an alleged badge of honor.

Something else happened during the week -- Schultz developed selective amnesia about his criticism of Palin as unfit mother. By Thursday he was fobbing it off on his callers and blaming them.

"I was watching MSNBC yesterday afternoon," Schultz said, "and Peggy Noonan, former speechwriter for Reagan, basically quoted me, she referred to me, saying that she had watched some cable news show the other night and somebody said, questioning whether she was a good mother or not. I wasn't doing that. I was being a facilitator because callers to this program were asking, where are her priorities?"

"The item in today's Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over."

Hey, why take any chances with such an intelligent, compelling and appealing candidate who just happens to be a woman? (and a Republican)

September 4, 2008

... which helps explain why you may be hearing little on the odds of this happening, compared to the initial burst of speculation that Sarah Palin was doomed. This past Tuesday night, for example, a story at The Huffington Post cited Intrade odds of 15 percent that Palin wouldn't last on the GOP ticket. As of tonight, nearly 24 hours after her blockbuster speech at the GOP convention, those odds have plummeted to 5.5 percent.

Classic example of Air America Radio host Rachel Maddow's twisted logic - on Tuesday, MSNBC's "Race for the White House" host David Gregory asked whether Barack Obama's lack of experience was fair game for criticism if Democrats disparaged Sarah Palin for the same.

Maddow's response:

If you have an inexperienced vice president, that means that the country could be in their hands. With Barack Obama, if they experience worries about him, if something happens to him, the country will be in good hands with Joe Biden. It doesn't go both directions.

Actually it does, and in a way that undercuts Maddow's argument. If you have an inexperienced president - Obama, for example - that means the country will be in his hands.